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COSTA RICA |
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3G
Will Only Be Offered in "Basic" Mode To
Start
Many are excited for the arrival of 3G in
Costa Rica, especially with the announcement
by the Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) will begin marketing the
950.000 next generation of cellular lines by
mid December. However, some will be severely
disappointed.
ICE, the sole provider of cellular service
in Costa Rica, says it will offer 3G only
with basic services at the start and none of
the innovate and sophisticated options
available on a 3G network.
The 3G network installation contract in
Costa Rica was gien to the Chinese company
Huawei Technologies and a price tag of
us$235 million dollars.
It was expected that by the end of this year
this marvel in technology would be available
in full, like it is available in just about
every country that has cellular service,
including neighbouring Nicaragua, the
poorest country in Central America.
ICE says that the network will be delivered
in three stages, the first is basic
services, which allows the making and
receiving of telephone voice calls and text
messaging with a greater coverage and speed
that what Ticos are accustomed to.
According to Elbert Durán, ICE spokesperson,
the 3G will be transmitting on a wide band
and no the 64Kb that the current cellular
networks (TDMA and GSM) are using.
The difference that to download, say a video
or music, can take less than a minute on the
3G while it can take many minutes under the
current network.
However, 3G is more than just a network for
making and receiving telephone calls. The
wide band allows the transmission of data -
large amounts of data, like photos, movies
and even television (mobile tv) - all in the
palm of a hand. But, not in Costa Rica.
Durán failed to say when the other two
stages of the service will be available, nor
the exact date when the first 3G will be
available.
The introduction of the 3G is crucial for
ICE as it heads into a new era for Costa
Rica, competition in the telecommunication
sector, with the expected authorization of
three additional cellular carriers by next
year.
Currently there are 1.8 million cellular
users in Costa Rica.
With the addition of the 950.000 3G lines,
ICE will have locked in the market, as a
change to a competitor will surely mean a
change in phone number, something that Ticos
are simply not accustomed to, where many
subscribers, have the same phone number
since the first day cellular service was
introduced in Costa Rica. |
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